goessnd - Derives temperature and moisture profiles from GOES sounder datasets.

SYNOPSIS

goessnd  [ parameter=value ... ]  [ outputfile ... ]
goessnd  [ parameter=value ... ]  [ directory ]

Parameters are: line_sub, samp_sub, average, max_pass, climatology, weight, debug, skin_type, min_clear, gamma, wv_scale, guess_file, ATEST, BTDIFF, DF, EMISS, EMLIM, EROLIM, GCK, TINC, TSKLIM, ULIM, VIS, WFAC, WLIMX, ADJ, CGES, GAMS, ISAVG, ISUN, IVV, NOBL, NOSFC, NOSK, WOB.

DESCRIPTION

goessnd derives temperature and moisture soundings from GOES sounder brightness temperatures datasets (gvarin). The GOES sounder includes 19 channels extending from about 1 to 15 micrometers (Menzel and Purdom, 1994). The algorithm is based on Hayden (1988) and mimics the operational product used by the National Meteorological Center (NMC). The algorithm is a simultaneous physical retrieval of both the temperature and moisture profiles of the atmosphere. It relies heavily on first guess profiles and computes perturbations to these profiles that are consistent with the observed brightness temperatures. The first guess information typically comes from numerical weather analyses (i.e., nowcasts, or initial forecast fields), such as those available from most operational weather centers, including the United States National Weather Service.

The algorithm is designed to derive profiles over a sounding area that typically includes 5 scan lines and 5 samples (see line_sub, samp_sub, and average). The clear areas are distinguished from the cloudy areas based on the cloud screening criteria discussed in Section 2.c of Hayden (1988). If the number of clear scenes is sufficient (see min_clear), then the average brightness temperature for each channel over all the clear scenes in the sounding area is determined. From this mean clear-sky sounding, the temperature and moisture profiles are determined from an iterated inversion of the radiative transfer equation (see max_pass, gamma, wv_scale). This inversion is designed to produce temperature and moisture perturbations to the first guess profiles that bring the new profiles more in line with the mean clear-sky brightness temperatures.

Due to the heavy reliance on the first guess information, it is suggested that the most current guess or forecast information be used in the retrieval process. The present release of goessnd was tested using first-guess analysis data from NMC's global data assimilation system (gdas). These data can be obtained via anonymous ftp from nic.fb4.noaa.gov. The specific files used with goessnd were obtained from the pub/fnl directory. Examples of the two files needed for first guess information are gdas2.T12Z.PGrbF00 and gdas1.T00Z.sstgrb. The first file is a zero-hour forecast (i.e. analysis or nowcast; F00) for time 12Z (GMT). The "2" indicates a spatial resolution of 2.5 degrees and the "P" indicates the analysis is interpolated to a pressure vertical coordinate system. The "Grb" indicates the data are in the WMO Gridded Binary Format (GRIB; Stackpole, 1994). This type of GRIB file contains several three-dimensional fields and several horizontal two-dimensional fields that describe the basic state of the weather forecasting model at its initial time step. This initial state was determined from a spatial interpolation of the most recent weather observations to the current time (e.g. 12Z) using the model physics as constraints for the interpolation. The second file is also a GRIB file which contains the sea surface temperature. In this case, it pertains to time 00Z and the "1" indicates a spatial resolution of 1.0 degree. A shell script (nmcgdas2tdf) is provided to extract the necessary information from files such as these and write it to a TeraScan dataset that can be used by goessnd.

In the cases when/where current weather analysis is not available, a twelve month climatology (ecmwfclim.tdf) is also provided that includes the necessary information for goessnd to initiate a first guess. This information is taken from five years of European Centre for Medium Range Forecasting (EMCWF) analyses. First guess information can also be provided by a user-supplied TeraScan dataset containing the following variable names and units:

Variable                  Units     Dimensions/Description
------------------------------------------------------------------
temperature                kelvin   3-D
relative_humidity          percent  3-D
temperature_pressure       mb       1-D array of pressure levels
relative_humidity_pressure mb       1-D array of pressure levels
sea_surface_temperature    kelvin   2-D (bad values for land)
surface_pressure           Pa       2-D
surface_temperature        kelvin   2-D ~10-50m temperature
surface_relative_humidity  percent  2-D ~10-50m relative humidity

The horizontal coverage of the first guess dataset must be sufficient to cover the region of the GOES sounder pass being processed, and a valid earth transform must exist for the above variables. The number of pressure levels for the 3-D variables and their exact pressure values are arbitrary, however typically these should extend from 100 mb or above, down to 1000 mb. For pressure levels above that supplied by the first guess data, a simple climatology is blended into the first guess temperature and relative humidity data. Note the last dimension of all the variables above should be the sample dimension (e.g. longitude), the second to last dimension should be the line dimension (e.g. latitude), and, in the case of the 3-D variables, the third to last dimension should be the vertical dimension (e.g. pressure). If goessnd is to assume the supplied first guess dataset represents a climtology (see climges), then each of the above variables must have an additional dimension (their first dimension) that has length twelve, which represents the months of the year beginning with January.

The output variables and parameters of the retrieval algorithm include the following:

Variable                Units          Description
------------------------------------------------------------------
pressure                millibars      1-D Pressure Array
temperature             kelvin         Retrieved Temperatures
water_vapor             gm/kg          Retrieved H20 Mixing Ratio
ozone                   ppm-volume     Climatological Ozone Used
1stges_temperature      kelvin         1st Guess Temperature
1stges_water_vapor      gm/kg          1st Guess Water Vapor
1stges_surf_temperature kelvin         1st Guess Surface Temp.
1stges_surf_dewpoint    kelvin         1st Guess Surface Dew Pt.
elevation               meters         Elevation
geography               0=Ocean;1=Land;3=Lake;4=Marsh
skin_temperature        kelvin         Retrieved Skin Temperature
surface_temperature     kelvin         Retrieved Surf. Temperature
surface_dewpoint        kelvin
surface_pressure        millibars
cloud_flag
cloud_fraction
emissivity
avg_goes_bt             kelvin
1st_ges_bt              kelvin
tau                     optional (see parameter weight)
phi                     optional (see parameter weight)
alpha                   optional (see parameter weight)
xit                     optional (see parameter weight)

PARAMETERS

line_sub

The number of lines to subsample between soundings or to include in the processing of a single sounding (see average).

The valid range is [1 to 25]. The default value is 5.

samp_sub

The number of samples to subsample between soundings or to include in the processing of a single sounding (see average).

The valid range is [1 to 25]. The default value is 5.

average

If average=yes, then each sounding is determined from a rectangle of scenes made up of line_sub lines and samp_sub samples. If average=no, then each sounding is determined from a a single scene and line_sub and samp_sub samples are used to subsample the input dataset.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is yes.

min_clear

The minimum fraction of clear pixels required to derive a sounding (see average).

The valid range is [1/(line_sub*samp_sub) to 1.0]. The default value is 0.3.

max_pass

The perturbations to the first guess profiles are produced by an inversion of the radiative transfer equations. This process can be iterated to improve the retrievals on successive iterations.

The valid range is [1 to 10]. The default value is 3

climatology

Specifies whether the first guess information comes from a climatology or from recent forecast/analysis data.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is no.

weight

Specifies to output the Tau, phi, Phi and inverse matrices (Eqn. 2-10; Hayden, 1988) for the last sounding retrieved. This is typically for debugging purposes when running the function for a single retrieval (e.g. 5x5 box) to examine its sensitivity to the input parameters.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is no.

debug

Specifies the debug level. Increasing the debug level increases the level of debug information. This is primarily for internal use only but user's may find the information helpful.

The valid range is [0 to 4 ]. The default value is 0.

skin_type

The algorithm estimates the first guess skin temperature using one of several approaches.

Value  Method for estimate      Channels
0      shortwave day or night depending on solar zenith angle
1      shortwave day            (17,18)
2      shortwave  night         (16,17)
3      longwave + shortwave     (17,7,8)
4      longwave split window a  (7,8)
5      longwave split window b  (6,8)

Valid responses are [0 to 5]. The default value is 3.

guess_file

Name of TeraScan dataset containing the first guess information (see description above).

If climatology=yes, the default value is ecmwfclim.tdf. If climatology=no, there is no default.

gamma

Specifies the value of the stability parameter (Eqn. 10, Hayden, 1988). The larger the value, the smaller the perturbations to the first guess profiles. The smaller the value, the more freedom the retrieval has in modifying the first guess profiles.

The valid range is [0.01 to 100.0]. The default value is 50.

wv_scale

Specifies the scaling value for the water vapor in the Phi matrix (See page 702, column 2, Hayden, 1988).

The valid range is [1.0e-8 to 1.0e8]. The default value is 1000.

ATEST

OPTIONAL. Value used for checking the temperature perturbation produced by the retrieval. If the difference exceeds this specified value, then the retrieval is assumed to have failed.

The valid range is [0.0 to 100.0]. The default value is 50.

BTDIFF

OPTIONAL. Value used for checking the absolute difference between the observed brightness temperatures and those produced from the retrieved profiles. If the difference exceeds this specified value, then the retrieval is assumed to have failed.

The valid range is [0.0 to 100.0]. The default value is 50.

DF

OPTIONAL. Maximum sea surface temperature gradient (difference) allowed over the sounding area (see line_sub, samp_sub) box.

The valid range is [0.0 to 20.0]. The default value is 1.

EMISS

OPTIONAL. Initial/default value for surface emissivity.

The valid range is [0.0 to1.0]. The default value is 0.99.

EMLIM

OPTIONAL. Minimum surface emissivity accepted.

The valid range is [0.0 to 1.0]. The default value is 0.95.

EROLIM

OPTIONAL. Minimum value for error weight (see Eqn. 11; Hayden, 1988).

The valid range is [0.0 to 10000.0]. The default value is 0.15.

GAMS

OPTIONAL. Factor by which to reduce gamma on each successive iteration. This allows for decreasing the rigidity of the retrieval on each iteration.

The valid range is [1.0 to 100.0]. The default value is 1.

GCK

OPTIONAL. A temperature check value between the first guess and retrieval.

The valid range is [0.0 to 1000.0]. The default value is 4.

TSKLIM

OPTIONAL. Skin temperature (kelvin) difference check.

The valid range is [0.0 to 15.0]. The default value is 6.

ULIM

OPTIONAL. Minimum value for for quantity dU (Eqn. 7; Hayden, 1988) to still allow differential to be calculated.

The valid range is [0.0, 10.0]. The default value is 1.0e-5.

VIS

OPTIONAL. Maximum value for visible channel (19) to still be considered a clear scene.

The valid range is [0.0 to 100.0]. The default value is 25.

WFAC

OPTIONAL. Factor that multiplies the current values of U (Eqns. 3,7) in order to derive an expression for dTau/dU [e.g., dU = U*(1+WFAC) - U(1-WFAC)].

The valid range is [0.0 to 10.0]. The default value is 0.2.

WLIMX

OPTIONAL. Factor for setting minimum water vapor in adjustment routine after retrieval. This factor multiplies the pressure (mb) at the level being checked. The maximum between this value and 0.05 is then used as a relative humidity to multiply the saturation mixing ratio. This latter value is used as the minimum mixing ratio.

The valid range is [0.0 to 100.0]. The default value is 0.0001.

ADJ

OPTIONAL. Specifies whether or not to perform artificial adjustment to water vapor after retrieval to remove values above 95% relative humidity and keep a minimum value as well (see WLIMX above).

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is yes.

CGES

OPTIONAL. Specifies whether or not to increase the uncertainty in the check on window brightness temperatures against the first guess surface temperature in the cloud screening routine.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is no.

ISAVG

OPTIONAL. If set to less than or equal 99, then for an iteration less than this value (iterations start at 1), reload the first guess temperatures and override the retrieval (e.g. for a value of 1, don't reload temperatures).

The valid range is [0 to 99]. The default value is 1.

ISUN

OPTIONAL. Specifies whether or not to make an adjustment to the brightness temperatures for daylight hours.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is yes.

IVV

OPTIONAL. Specifies whether or not to make bias adjustments to observed brightness temperatures based on statistical comparisons with observations and retrievals.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is no.

NOBL

OPTIONAL. Specifies whether or not to set bottom two temperatures equal (e.g. a simple mixed layer).

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is yes.

NOSFC

OPTIONAL. Specifies whether or not to perform surface temperature gradient check in cloud screening routine. If yes, then don't do the check.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is no.

NOSK

OPTIONAL. If set to yes, then don't do surface skin temperature retrieval.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is no.

WOB

OPTIONAL. Determines the value to use for the out of bounds check on the retrieved surface water vapor (i.e., Eqn. 8). If set to no, the observed first guess value is used, otherwise the mean of the observed first guess surface water vapor mixing ratio and the retrieved value at the level just above the lowest level is used.

Valid responses are [yes or no]. The default value is no.

EXAMPLES

% goessnd pass/g8.95222.0246 g8snd
line_sub       : int       ? [5]
samp_sub       : int       ? [5]
average        : char(  3) ? [yes]
min_clear      : real      ? [0.3]
max_pass       : int       ? [3]
gamma          : real      ? [50]
wv_scale       : real      ? [1000] 5000
climatology    : char(  3) ? [no]
guess_file     : char(255) ? pass/nmc_95080912.tdf
debug          : int       ? [0]

Processing:pass/g8.95222.0246 02:45:13.708 95/08/10: Lines: 224 Samples: 361

FILES

	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/climozon.tdf
	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/climprof.tdf
	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/common.tdf
	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/ecmwfclim.tdf
	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/flemcofx.tdf
	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/geography.tdf
	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/goesrtcx.tdf
	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/refatm.tdf
	$TSCANROOT/refdata/goes/stdatm.tdf

SEE ALSO

gvarin, fastreg, nmcgdas2tdf

REFERENCES

Hayden, C. M., 1988: GOES-VAS Simultaneous Temperature-Moisture Retrieval Algorithm, J. Appl. Meteor., 27, 705-733. Menzel, W.P. and J.F.W. Purdom, Introducing GOES-I: The First of a New Generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 75, 757-781. Stackpole, J. D., 1994: The WMO format for the storage of weather product information and the exchange of weather product messages in gridded binary form. Office Note 388. National Meteorological Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (see pub/doc directory on nic.fb4.noaa.gov anonymous ftp).


Last Update: $Date: 2001/06/19 19:27:16 $